The publication of rankings is aimed at triggering competition among states, to attract investments and improve the business climate.

Andhra Pradesh (AP) outperformed 28 other states and seven union territories in the 2016-17 financial year as far as the ease of doing business within a state is concerned. The third edition of the annual rankings, published by the government on Tuesday, showed that AP is the best state to do business in, followed by Telangana and Haryana.

The rankings were published by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), which is under the commerce and industry ministry.

The publication of rankings is aimed at triggering competition among states, to attract investments and improve the business climate. The ministry released the latest ranking of states and UTs under the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP), 2017.

Provisional DIPP data showed that Jharkhand would occupy the top spot for fiscal 2016-17. AP and Telangana jointly occupied the top slot in fiscal 2015-16, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat was ranked number one in fiscal 2014-15.

On their part, state governments are taking several steps such as setting up of so-called single window systems for approvals, to improve the ease of doing business.

In the last Budget, the NDA government identified 372 action points for states that they would carry out on a mission mode.

The parameters included areas such as construction permits, labour regulation, environmental registration, access to information, land availability, and 'fast-tracked' approvals via the single window system.

In its latest 'Doing Business' report, the World Bank (WB) said India's rank improved by a number of notches to 100 among 190 nations. The government has said that it aims to figure among the top 50 countries in the overall ease of doing business rankings, put out by the WB.